In our postseason football coverage, @hanalei91 recaps and evaluates each position group from WKU Football's 2019 campaign as well as briefly previews what is to come in 2020.

For the first positional recap, we will begin with the position group through which the season ended: special teams.

Heading into the season, Coach Helton announced that redshirt senior kicker Alex Rinella was academically ineligible for the first two games. During that time, true freshman Cory Munson handled placekicking responsibilities and went 2-of-3 on FGAs and 6-of-6 on XPAs. Helton stuck with Munson the remainder of the year. He concluded the season having gone 17-of-28 (58.3%) on FGAs and 39-of-40 on XPAs.

A wild series of events led to an untimed down with no time left in regulation for the Hilltoppers during the First Responder Bowl. WKU was tied 20-20 with Western Michigan. Quarterback Ty Storey could have taken a shot into the endzone, or Munson could attempt a 52-yard field goal. To that point in the game, Munson was 2-of-3 on FGAs. Helton ultimately sent the kicking crew onto the field. Munson booted the ball and it sailed through the uprights. WKU won 23-20.

2019 Evaluation & 2020 Preview: Munson did not have a statistically "strong" season, per se. His game-winning FG is what many headlines called a "redemption."

However, his leg strength was never and should never be of question. Obviously, if you do not have the leg strength to reach the uprights, accuracy is irrelevant. By sticking with and developing Munson, Helton and Andy LaRussa (Special Teams Coordinator) have set up the Hilltoppers for years of success. Munson's aptitude for kicking is clear. Accuracy comes with more experience and more practice.

Australian-native and rugby-style punter John Haggerty joined the Hilltoppers in 2019 and made an immediate impact. By the end of the season, Haggerty averaged 45.9 yards per punt and had 18 punts land inside of the 20-yard line. His yards per punt put him atop the league leaderboard as well as broke the program's single season average record. Haggerty's efforts would usually flip the field in favor of WKU and the Hilltoppers' defense would take care of the rest.

2019 Evaluation & 2020 Preview: For it to have been Haggerty's first year playing college football, one would never know. Listed as a junior in 2019, WKU will have Haggerty one more season. To even be within a yard - under or over - of his 2019 average, Haggerty will still be able to flip the field position and, likely, remain the league leader. Improvement in 2020 can come in the form of more punts landing inside of the 20-yard line, however, much of that is dependent upon where he is kicking from.

Garland LaFrance and Jacquez Sloan led kick returns: combining for 32 returns, 599 yards, 18.7 yards per return, and no touchdowns. LaFrance had a long of 31 yards while the speedy Sloan had a long of 37 yards.

Meanwhile, Roger Cray led punt return duties with 5 returns for 28 yards and 5.6 yards per return. True freshman Clayton Bush had the most returns (7) but the fewest yards (3) as well as average (0.43).

2019 Evaluation & 2020 Preview: Unless the opponent butchered a kickoff or punt, WKU's return team was mundane and unproductive, at best. On occasion, the kick return unit could put the offense in better field position. Heading into the 2020 season, WKU has to find consistent playmakers that can provide explosive plays on occasion, and put the offense in better situations.

WKU's young special teams unit saw its highs and lows in 2019. With all starters returning, the unit now has much needed depth and experience. Expectations are high for the program in 2020 - many predicting the Tops to be in the C-USA Championship - and a solid, productive special teams group would give WKU an advantage. I would expect the biggest shakeup or change within the unit to come from kick and/or punt returners.